


Aftermath

by Huntress79



Category: Hawkeye (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Deaf Clint Barton, F/M, Gen, Missions Gone Wrong, Mobbing (mentioned), Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Pre-Avengers (2012), Protective Phil Coulson, Red Room aftermath, Strike Team Delta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 07:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20653454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Huntress79/pseuds/Huntress79
Summary: It was supposed to be a rather simple mission – until it wasn’t. And Phil Coulson was left to question every deity in existence for his apparent fate.





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> written for superhero_land’s “Pass On Writing” challenge and the prompt “We are not here to cause trouble. We are here to avoid it” by jaquelee. Set at some point after Natasha has defected to S.H.I.E.L.D., but before “The Avengers”. Enjoy!

*********************

The only good thing about all this conundrum was that their target, more or less, ran straight into their laid trap, Phil Coulson thought as he stepped into the small police precinct in the outer suburbs of Vienna. Everything else was, mildly said, unbelievable and headache-inducing.

Squaring his shoulders, Phil exchanged a few words with the commanding officer before he was led to the basement and the holding cells. And if the situation wouldn’t have been so equally embarrassing and tiring, he would have laughed as he got a first glimpse of his “terrible two”, as Maria Hill referred to them.

In the last cell of the row, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton, both top-spies and excellent agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., sat huddled together, like two lost children. And in a certain way, so Phil thought while he waited for the officer to open the cell door, they were exactly that. Natasha’s childhood was stolen by the Red Room, and while Clint grew up in a bit more normal way, having a deadbeat father, a cowarding mother and a brother from hell didn’t qualify for “happy childhood” either.

“Hey folks,” Phil finally spoke up, and in any other scenario, the way both their heads shot up would have been adorable. But, they were grown-ups, and grown-ups had to play by the rules, especially when they were federal agents. And so, Phil once more squared his shoulders, stepped into the cell, asked the officer for some privacy and faced the pair.

“Anyone wants to explain what happened back at the market?”

He was met with silence (which was expected), though Clint and Natasha exchanged a whole conversation with their eyes alone. At least that worked in his favor, since he, Nick and Clint took on quite a risk by letting Natasha defect to their agency.

“We had to cause a ruckus, Phil,” Clint finally broke the silence, though Phil immediately took notice of the louder voice of his archer. Apparently, his hearing aids had taken some damage in said “ruckus”.

“And why?” Phil already had seen the aftermath of their actions, with two completely damaged cars and half of the merchants angry.

“It… it was me, sir,” Natasha added, her eyes drifting all over the place. “I… I thought I saw someone from my past, someone really bad, and suddenly, all I knew was to keep Clint and myself safe.” Her voice caught, and Phil could see tears in her eyes. She probably expected Phil or any other of the higher-ups of S.H.I.E.L.D. to either punish her or, in the worst case, send her back to the Red Room. As if that would happen.

“Natasha,” Phil said as he sat down beside her, “that’s what we have the Strike team here. All you had to do was to notify them in some way, and they would have cleared the situation.”

“I… I don’t trust them, sir,” she admitted. “They don’t like me and I heard one of them say that I was just here to learn about weak points and would report back to the Red Room.” She sniffed, and Clint gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “I don’t do that, and I wouldn’t do it, I promise! Why should I hurt the people who helped me and gave me a second chance when I was ready to give up?”

“We know that, Natasha, and I will personally have a word with the Strike team.” Phil turned to Clint. “Clint, if you should notice anything, I want an immediate report, get it?”

“Yes, sir,” the resident archer nodded, “and I’d like to help the merchants.”

“How?”

“You know I’m good with tools, so I thought I could help them rebuild their stands.”

“Not necessary, I already took care of it. And momentarily, there’s more anger about it than real damage.”

Upon hearing that, Clint, for the lack of a better word, slumped against Natasha, and Phil took that moment to call the officer back and ask for their release into his custody. If they would have to spend any more time here, they both would be even more broken than they already were. He would get them first back to the hotel, and back to the States by tomorrow, requesting some downtime for them from Nick.

*********************

The End

*********************


End file.
